


Beyond the Veil

by fantastic_rambles



Category: Original Work
Genre: Demons, Detectives, Drama, Elves, Light Angst, Magic, Murder Mystery, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Original Universe, Urban Fantasy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-11
Updated: 2012-07-11
Packaged: 2021-03-13 07:09:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28774356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fantastic_rambles/pseuds/fantastic_rambles
Summary: In a post-apocalyptic world, fantasy and reality have intersected, and a wave of strange creatures has been released upon the Earth. With them, they bring a new breed of criminals that often have an infuriating ability to use magic to hide their tracks. Detectives Burns and Thaneuil are a human and elf that are partners on the New York police force, working together to track down criminals both mundane and mystical. This time, they’ve been called in response to a murder.





	Beyond the Veil

_Many humans no longer remember that this place, this planet they call Earth, is not theirs alone._

_It never has been._

_Beside the world of men lies another plane of existence, divided by a thin veil: the home of ancient gods and creatures of fairytales. These were not always isolated; long ago, humans lived with beings beyond their comprehension, existences that inspired the stories now classified as mythology. The veil was created much later by those who called themselves Christians and turned the knowledge given to them back on their teachers. Those men separated the beings they called demons from the rest of the world, promoting their own "God," a creation as false as any revered before and since._

_Human children can see beyond the veil, but most lose the ability; the "imaginary friends" that they played with and the "monsters" in the closet or under the bed are gradually dismissed as childish fancies. However, there are places where the veil wears thin and humans and "demons" may cross if the conditions are right. These may be small, temporary tears like the one that released the fairies forever immortalized in "The Elves and the Shoemaker," or larger, more stable holes such as that in the place people call the Bermuda Triangle._

_On December 21, 2012 by human timekeeping, the veil finally broke, releasing all the beings that had been locked up until then: giants, elves, werewolves, vampires, centaurs, dragons, fairies, unicorns, demons, and everything else that humans once knew. Many called it the end of the world._

* * *

  
**October 13, 2062**  
  
"I knew I shouldn't have come in to work today," Jeremy Burns commented, sounding vaguely sick. The detective's fingers fumbled in the pocket of his long, brown overcoat until he found a battered box of cigarettes and his Bic lighter.  
  
His partner, Thaneuil, didn't look up as he simply asked, "Why?"  
  
"Friday the thirteenth. It's bad luck, you know," Burns replied, taking a long drag as he forced himself to look at the body again. The face was little more than mush, which meant they'd be hard put to identify her by traditional methods. The body hadn't fared much better, judging by the deep gashes that ripped at the flesh in every which way. "Jeez, what the hell happened here? It looks like some wild animal got her. Bit early for Halloween, you think?"  
  
"The association between Friday and thirteen with bad luck is arbitrary superstition with no basis in fact," Thaneuil retorted precisely, standing up to his full seven feet as he gestured for backup to prep the body for transport. He was dressed impeccably in a dark suit that looked as if it had just come off the rack, even though Thaneuil had been kneeling in a dirty alley next to a mauled body for nearly an hour. It must have something to do with the way elves made clothes, Burns supposed. His partner was clearly one of that race, with his fine-boned features, distinctive, pointed ears, and pale, golden eyes. Anything that came from the Other Side had the same unusually-colored, mesmerizing irises, which made their work damned hard when they were one of the few things human witnesses remembered.  
  
Burns sighed, running a hand through his sandy hair as he glanced over at the apparently younger man. It was hard to believe that the mild-mannered, meticulous detective who looked to be in his mid-twenties was more than five times his age. When Burns had entered the police force nearly twenty years ago, Thaneuil was already a legend. The elf had been pursuing a demon when the veil broke thirty years prior, a chase that led him to New York City. After cooperating with the local authorities to apprehend the creature, he never left and had added several more high-profile arrests to his record since then.  
  
"Tell me," the dark-haired elf began abruptly when they returned to their car, "What do you think about this case?"  
  
"What do I think?" Burns repeated, trying to figure out what answer his senior partner was looking for. "I think one of those goddamned monsters got her."  
  
However, Thaneuil's eyes narrowed and his grip on the steering wheel tightened--wrong answer. That, or he'd offended the elf with his terminology; there were some "purists" that called everything from the Other Side "monsters." The radical group was currently petitioning to recreate the veil somehow, or should that fail, imprison or execute all the Other Folk. Burns wasn't one of them, but he sometimes forgot that his partner wasn't exactly human and must have had plenty of the vitriol directed towards him.  
  
"It's possible, but nothing on our side had this method of killing. It's too brutal--as you said, it looks like the work of an animal. A demon could come up with the idea, but..." Thaneuil paused, his face taut with frustration. "I don't understand the motivation behind it. We're going to visit Madame Versace."  
  
Madame Versace--a familiar name, Burns reflected. She was a witch who had taken up residence in the city, working primarily as a "psychic" and moonlighting as a police consultant. It was said that she could find anything that a person was looking for, a claim that hadn't been proven wrong yet. It was also said that Thaneuil had a soft spot for her. After all, there were plenty of other adept witches in the city, but Madame Versace was always the elf's first choice--and he often visited her discreetly when he was off-duty as well.  
  
As they drove past the tall skyscrapers so iconic of the city's skyline, Burns wondered what life had been like before the veil had torn. Few of the Other Folk were willing to discuss the millenia they spent behind the veil, and few humans were alive that still remembered the old world. Some department retirees would stop by once in a while to reminisce about the chaos that occurred immediately after the event, but memories of the era before were rare. With the assistance of the friendlier species--including individuals like Thaneuil--they'd managed to clean up within twenty years, incorporating the benevolent humanoids into society and creating places for the more destructive or less inconspicuous to live. Burns was used to seeing elves, witches, vampires, and fairies on a daily basis, but it hadn't always been this way.  
  
He was still lost in his thoughts when the car pulled to a stop, parallel parking perfectly against the curb. A sandwich board on the sidewalk was covered in swirling, arcane designs, advertising: "Psychic Readings, Upstairs."  
  
Scrambling out of the car, Burns followed Thaneuil up the narrow staircase and into Madame Versace's office, which was exactly what someone would expect of a psychic. Plush carpeting covered the floor, silencing their steps. The ceiling was pitch-black, painted with stars and planets, while heavy, dark hangings embroidered with silver symbols lined the walls. The air smelled faintly of sandalwood and some herbs he couldn't identify, and the ambient, red lighting was broken only by the gleaming crystal ball that sat on a low, wooden table in the center of the room. The table also held various other tools of the trade: Tarot cards, a pouch of _real_ dragon bones, an incense burner, and a bag of rune stones. However, the owner didn't seem to be present.  
  
"I wonder where she is," Thaneuil commented with a frown as he drew his cellular from his pocket and punched in a number before placing it by his ear, circling around the room. Burns knew that he was taking everything in with his keen powers of observation and just made sure to stay out of his partner's way.  
  
"Maybe she just stepped out to grab lunch," Burns suggested. Still, it was odd since the woman usually closed her door if she was going out. Maybe she'd just forgotten this time, or some client had come in and left when he realized she wasn't there. The two of them were on edge after the brutal murder, but there were plenty of innocuous explanations that were much more likely.  
  
"Or maybe we've figured out who our Jane Doe is," Thaneuil countered grimly, hanging up and dialing another number as he stared at the paraphernalia on the table. With a sinking heart, Burns joined him. At first, he didn't see anything wrong--until a long, elegant finger pointed at the Tarot cards that were fanned out on the polished surface. He wasn't an expert in reading such things, but Burns was fairly certain that Death wasn't a good sign--especially when a photo of Madame Versace's face was pasted onto it. As his partner called in a crime scene squad, he examined the other cards that lay face-up: the Wheel of Fortune, the Tower, the Three of Swords, and the Five of Cups. They meant nothing to him, but Thaneuil seemed to understand them perfectly.  
  
"They're sending the department wizard in with the team," Thaneuil reported curtly when he got off the phone. "He'll see if the culprit's presence is stronger here than in the alley so we can track him down."  
  
"Thaneuil, what does this mean?" Burns asked, gesturing to the spread, and Thaneuil's eyes darkened to amber.  
  
"It means that someone is out to get me."  
  
"They've identified the body--Madame Versace" Burns informed Thaneuil tersely. The elf just nodded, his expression inscrutable. They'd been on nothing less than a wild goose chase for the last several hours; the tracking medallions that the department wizard had provided them with were proving useless. He had claimed that they would react with the essence of the suspect--the last being in the room other than the two detectives and the victim--but the chunks of metal had been stone-cold as they canvassed nearly the entire city. If the police had passed by anywhere the suspect had been, the medallions should have warmed up, but they might as well have been chasing a ghost. The only "hot spot" they had found so far was at the witch's office.  
  
Thaneuil was trying to control his emotions, but Burns had been with the elf long enough to realize he was distraught. While his partner was naturally taciturn, he had become even less verbose since the discovery. The slight tension that gripped the deceptively fragile-looking frame was clearly visible to the trained eye. In addition, their shift had ended hours ago, but Burns had adamantly refused to leave if Thaneuil didn't, despite the elf's protestations. This was the first time in twenty years that Burns had ever witnessed this abnormal behavior; more violent, gruesome cases hadn't even made the stoic detective bat an eye. But when it turned personal...  
  
The sun was setting when Thaneuil finally called it a day; there was a running joke in the department that he was solar-powered. As soon as the vibrant, pink and orange streaks faded from the sky, the elf turned in, like many of his race. They were creatures of the day, as much as vampires owned the night.  
  
When they arrived at his apartment, Thaneuil stepped out of the car... and the medallions suddenly burned white-hot as he was captured in a strong, scaly embrace. Burns's eyes widened as he jumped out of the car and drew his gun while his partner tried to twist out of the iron grip.  
  
"Gotcha now, elf," a voice hissed sibilantly. Even from a distance, Burns smelled the smoke and fire in its breath. The arms that pinioned his partner were scaly, blood-red, and filled with a sinewy, monstrous strength. The rest of the body looked the same, but the face was what caught the human's attention. It looked vaguely goat-like, with two horns that curled upward, but no goats had skin that vibrant, scarlet hue or so many sharp, pointed teeth. Although he had never encountered one before, Burns knew exactly what this was: a demon.  
  
"Did you appreciate what I did to your mate?" the demon continued, grinning broadly to reveal even more teeth, even though Thaneuil couldn't see it.  
  
"She was not my pair-bonded," Thaneuil retorted, far too quickly. "She was only a close-bonded."  
  
"So you say. Would you be as angry if it had been this human?" The demon laughed unpleasantly, a broken, crackling sound, making the hairs on Burns's neck rise as he began to sweat profusely. This wasn't a common criminal; it had no need for a hostage since it could disappear in a blink, but it had still taken Thaneuil... and it wasn't difficult to guess why. "Would you like me to tear him apart after you?"  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
"I wanted you to suffer like I did when you stole my mate. Now, I want to make you your mate's twin."  
  
Thaneuil was silent for a moment, but then he met the other man's eyes with unnerving calm. "Burns, follow procedure A-23."  
  
_A-23: In the event that a dangerous criminal cannot be safely apprehended, deadly force may be used._ Burns paled--it would mean taking the risk of shooting Thaneuil in this situation. The heavy skull of a mature demon couldn't be cracked by a bullet, so he had to aim for the chest. However... per protocol, his pistol alternated silver bullets with cold iron, but he didn't remember their order. While both were effective against demons, iron could turn a non-life-threatening injury into a deadly one for Thaneuil.  
  
"A-23," the elf repeated, as placidly as if they were discussing the weather.  
  
"You think that child can save you?" The demon laughed again, beginning to torque Thaneuil's neck. "He'll just stand by and watch you die."  
  
"I trust him," the detective replied simply as Burns raised his gun and squeezed the trigger, loosing a single shot. In the next moment, two bodies fell to the concrete, unmoving, and Burns screamed.  
  
Burns sat on a chair, his head in his hands as he thoroughly cursed himself out. He'd managed to take down the demon, but had it been worth it? From now on, he swore that he'd remember the order of his bullets. Because he hadn't, Thaneuil...  
  
He jumped when a hand was laid over his own, looking up at the figure in the hospital bed. The bullet had been silver after all, but his hesitation to shoot had given Thaneuil a few slipped disks from when the demon tried to break his neck. Additionally, the bullet that had pierced the criminal's heart had also punctured one of the elf's lungs. Nothing that couldn't be fixed, but he would be in rehab for a few months after his surgery. Burns had been terrified when Thaneuil had collapsed--until he plucked up the courage to approach and realized his partner was asleep. He would never understand elvish physiology, but he preferred having a heart attack to firing an iron slug.  
  
"You're right. Friday the thirteenth is really unlucky," Thaneuil coughed, smiling weakly.

**Author's Note:**

> Might write more in this universe at some point, idk. But this is it for now, thanks for reading!


End file.
